Motherly Advice
Shining Armor let out a soft groan as he laid on the couch in Twilight’s living room. On his face were two ice packs that hid his bruised face from the rest of the ponies in the room. After a moment, he felt the more melted ice pack lift off his face. Opening an eye slightly, he saw that it was Shadow who was replacing it. However, he didn’t have to drop the new one on his face.
“Ouch!” cried Shining. “Can’t you be a little gentler? I’m injured here.”
Shadow snorted. “You had it coming,” said the bat pony as he walked back into the kitchen. “You’re just lucky Twilight left when she did, or else she’d still be beating your sorry flank.”
“You should have stopped her,” noted Shining.
“And get on Twilight’s bad side?” asked Shadow, right before he shivered in fear. “Not a chance in the void. Besides, you deserved it!”
As he walked back into the family room, he had with him a few drinks that he carried on his back. First, he gave two of them to the two fillies that were looking through picture books on the floor. Shadow knew it was late and Scootaloo should have been in bed, but the incident with the virgin alarm had shaken up the orange pegasus pretty badly. So, Shadow felt it best not to force her to sleep just yet. Also, he felt since there was another filly in the house, Scootaloo wouldn’t want to go to sleep anyways.
Once the two girls were given their drinks, Shadow gave the last glass to Cadence. After Twilight had left, the pink alicorn had explained to him who she was and what she was doing on the moon. Shadow listened to her, while watching for any tells that might signify that she was lying. Averting her eyes, twitching her wings, or any of the usual signs. After finding none, he decided that there was no harm in letting her see Twilight’s home.
He showed her Scootaloo’s room, but not before showing her the kitchen, so that the princess could see that they were eating right. After that, the two of them sat down so that Cadence could ask him a few questions. What did Twilight do for a living? Could she support the two of them? What was Twilight planning on doing about Scootaloo’s education? All of these questions felt very standard to Shadow, so he eventually began to relax in the presence of this new princess.
As this went on, Scootaloo and Midnight were looking through various picture books on the floor. At first, Midnight was a little afraid to be around a new pony like Scootaloo, due to her past. However, it seemed like Scootaloo didn’t care what kind of wings she had, or that she had slit eyes. She treated her like she was just a regular pony, allowing Midnight to relax around her.
“Your mom seems real nice,” said Scootaloo out of the blue.
“Thanks,” said Midnight, unsure as to how to respond. She wanted to say the same thing, but the image of Twilight levitating Mr. Shiny in the air, before slamming him face first into the wall appeared in her head. Not wanting to make her new friend upset, however, she decided to be honest. “I bet your mommy is nice, too. A little scary, but nice.”
When Scootaloo heard this, she felt something warm rise in her chest. It was the first time somepony had ever really referred to Twilight as her mother. Sure, after Twilight adopted her, she said that she would be like a mother or big sister, but no other pony had said anything yet. And, after hearing it, it felt so right, so natural to begin thinking of Twilight as her mother.
“Yeah,” said Scootaloo as she turned the page with a small smile. “She is.”
Just then, the door opened and in walked Twilight. All the heads in the room turned to look at her. She looked really tired and her mane was slightly undone. However, she did her best to smile at everypony and show that she was alright.
“Welcome home,” said Shadow, walking over to kiss his fiancé on the cheek. “Is everything ok?”
“I don’t really know,” admitted Twilight. “Princess Luna was really worked up. She just left to go somewhere and asked me to inform the Senate. Most of them just seemed to accept, but wanted to know if she’s alright.”
“Will she be ok?” asked Scootaloo before she let out a yawn.
“I think she will,” said Twilight hopefully. Then, a small, playful smile appeared on her face. “But, don’t you think it’s a little for you to be up?”
“That’s our fault,” said the pink alicorn as she walked towards Twilight. “Hi, I’m Princess Cadence of Equestria. It’s nice to meet you.” Smiling, Cadence extended her hoof.
Twilight looked at it for a moment, but made no sign that she would accept it. She didn’t trust this ‘Princess of Equestria’. Not after what Princess Celestia had done to Princess Luna. Slowly, Cadence’s smile faded as she lowered her hoof.
“Ah, Twilight,” whispered Shadow. “She’s here to check on Scootaloo’s living conditions. You know, to make sure she has everything she needs. If everything doesn’t check out, then she will have to ask that Scootaloo be returned to Equestria. She told us that Princess Luna gave her the ok earlier today.”
Hearing this, the purple mares eyes widened in shock. She was here to check on Scootaloo? Why hadn’t any pony told her? She felt sure that the place was a mess. Then, there was the way that she attacked Shining Armor. Not to mention the way she was treating her guest so rudely.
“And, I can see that everything is in order,” said Cadence after seeing the shock and fear that suddenly appeared on Twilight’s face. “After you left, Captain Shadow Blade here was very kind as to answer all my questions, as well as showing me your lovely home. I can see that she is in good hooves.”
“I am sorry,” said Twilight quickly. “It’s just that-”
“Relationships between Equestria and the Lunar Republic aren’t at their best right now,” interrupted Cadence. To her great surprise, Twilight shook her head.
“It’s not that,” said Twilight. “Well, that is sort of right. Maybe half right. But that’s not why I reacted the way I did just now.”
Cadence raised an eyebrow as the purple mare took a breath. Then, she slowly began to tell them all about what had just happened to the moon princess. She didn’t go into too much detail about the dream, feeling that it was a very personal thing for Luna. She did, however, inform them that Celestia had forced Luna into a very painful memory dream and what happened when she woke up.
As she talked, the adults in the room became very quiet. Shadow began to grind his teeth as he listened to the ordeal. Shining Armor got off the couch and began to pace back and forth.
Princess Cadence’s reaction was the worst. She looked completely outrage. Her eyes narrowed as she dug her hooves into the ground. She couldn’t believe that her aunt would do something like that. It was beyond cruel to dig up such memories and force her sister to sit back and watch them like some sick play.
Twilight continued to tell everypony about the state she had found Luna in. That she had begun to question herself. That she had left to go and speak with somepony, and had would be gone from the Republic for an unknown amount of time.
“I guess I better get to Dome Zero, then,” said Shadow with a sigh. “Once the senators get there, I’m sure Gigawatt will try to convince the rest of the Senate to do something rash, like declare war. If he does, then I’ll have to remind him that only the princess can initiate a war vote.”
The bat pony then walked over to his fiancé and whispered in her ear. “Sorry I can’t stay, but maybe you can find that virgin alarm while I’m out.” He then kissed Twilight real quickly on the cheek before heading out the door.
“I’d better go as well,” said Cadence. She gave Twilight an ‘I’m sorry’ look as Shining Armor and the bat pony filly got up as well. “I need to speak to my aunt about this…this mess! Please tell Princess Luna I had no idea what Celestia was planning.”
“I’m sure she knows,” said Shining. “If she did suspect you, then she would have left orders for your arrest.” He then gave her a small smile, which she returned. “Now don’t you worry, I’ll make sure that the two of you get back home safe and sound. No cannons.”
-x-
Big Mac silently walked through the Everfree Forest by himself. Normally, he would be in bed sound asleep. Yet, during the night, he had gotten up to use the restroom. Once he had done his business, he had looked out the window to see smoke coming up from the forest. Worried there might be a fire or something, he decided to go check it out. If it was a fire, he needed to inform the town, so that they could put it out before something horrible happened.
As the large stallion walked slowly between the trees, he began to wish that Applejack was here with him. Not that he couldn’t handle something like this without her, it was just that he missed her since she headed off to Canterlot. With her leaving so suddenly, he was left to take care of Apple Bloom, Granny Smith and the farm by himself. Sure, Apple Bloom was trying to help pick up the slack, but she just wasn’t strong enough to help out with all the big things that needed to be done.
A sudden noise off to the side interrupted the red stallion’s thoughts. Turning his head and squinting his eyes, he began to look for the source. At first, all he could see were dark trees with crickets chirping away in the background. Then, a few heart beats later, he heard the noise once again.
Whatever it was, it sounded close by.
Slowly, he began to walk in the direction he believed he had heard it. With each step, he scanned the area, until finally he came upon a patch of tall grass. Using one hoof, he pushed it out of the way to reveal a figure lying in the middle.
He had seen this mare before. It was hard not to recognize the black and white stripes of a zebra. But, mixed with the stripes was blood that caked parts of her fur. There were also several bruises and one of her eyes was swollen. It took all of Big Mac’s might not to vomit.
Big Mac’s ears stood up as the sounds of galloping hooves filled the air. Not knowing what to do, the red stallion let go of the grass and turned around to face whoever was approaching him.
Less than a minute later, a bright yellow stallion with an orange afro mane stopped in front of him. Around his neck was a large red polka dot tie. In one hoof was a large rubber chicken as long as a shovel that looked a lot like the cutie mark on his flank. Big Mac blinked in surprise. It was Silly String, the stallion who ran the joke shop.
“Big Mac, is that you?” asked Silly String.
“Eeyup,” replied the red stallion. It was then that Big Mac noticed the scent of hard cider on Silly’s breath. It was pretty strong, too.
Silly let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good to know. For a moment, I thought you might be a minion of the evil enchantress. By the way, what are you doing out here?”
Wordlessly, Big Mac pointed upwards towards the sky. Silly looked up and spotted a bit of the smoke that could still be seen.
“Oh, I see,” sheepishly replied the joke shop pony. “Really sorry about that. I suppose you want to know what’s going on?”
“Eeyup,” came the reply.
“Well, me and several of the guys were down at the pub when Miss Foster came in,” began Silly String. “Poor mare was crying into her cider before she even took a sip. Me and the others did our best to cheer her up, but nothing worked. Not even my collection of knock-knock jokes! But, I guess I won’t be in a smiling mood if I had a filly who had just been foalnapped!”
Big Mac’s eyes widened at this revelation. He had known Miss Foster since he was a young colt. The poor mare loved all the fillies and colts that lived under her roof like they were her own. She worked hard to make sure they were well cared for as if she were their real mother.
“After she told us what was wrong, we did our best to reassure her that the poor filly was alright,” continued Silly. “But, she insisted that Scootaloo, that’s the filly’s name by the way, was in serious danger because she believes that those lunar ponies took her. On her way out, she said she was going to send another letter to the princess.
“As for the rest of us, well, we didn’t know what to do. Couldn’t go to the moon, that’s for sure. But then, Icy Cold pointed out that it might have been Zecora who took her.
“After talking about it for a bit, we got a few more stallions together and went to confront her at her home. Scary place, I tell you. Full of evil looking masks and such. When we got closer, we heard her talking in a weird language over a bubbling cauldron.
“So, we broke down the door and demanded that she tell us where the filly was. She started to talk in gibberish rhyme, so Icy suggested that we might have to get a little physical with her, while some of us looked around her place. We didn’t find anything, but we decided we’d better not take any chances so we burned the place down. That’s when the enchantress snuck away. By the way, have you seen her?”
Big Mac hesitated for a moment as he looked back at the tall grass. He knew the things that ponies said about Zecora. Pinkie Pie had even made a song about her that the stallion heard before, around the time that the enchantress first came to town.
However, his recent experience with the bat pony Shadow had caused him to start rethinking everything about what others had said. He didn’t know anything about Zecora. In fact, no pony did! Everything that he knew about her was rumors. If he gave Zecora over to them, there was a good chance they might kill her, despite the fact that she might be innocent.
“Nnope,” said Big Mac, realizing what he had to do.
“Ok then,” said Silly as he walked in the opposite direction. “Hey, if you see Pinkie Pie, tell her to swing on by my shop. I got a great deal on some new merchandise that I know she’ll love.”
Once Silly String was no longer in sight, Big Mac waited an extra moment or two before parting the grass once again. He watched Zecora for a moment as her chest rose and fell, signaling to the stallion that she was still alive. Carefully, he picked her up before placing her genteelly on his back. Giving the area around him one last look, Big Mac raced back to the ranch as if timberwolves were on his tail.
-x-
It was late in the night, but Celestia’s court was still very active. After finding out about the murder of Hard Shell, Princess Celestia had called all of her nobles for a very important meeting. For once, not a single one of them complained. They knew that if a griffon assassin would strike in the heart of the capital, there was a good chance that war would soon follow.
Only a few ponies, however, believed that it might be the work of a single individual rather than the will of a nation. They were quick to point out that, despite there still being major issues between both countries, the majority of the griffons were against the idea of war right now, including Emperor Eagle Eye.
Sitting on her throne, Celestia listened carefully to every suggestion. Some ponies believed that they should begin a search of the area and arrest all griffons. Others suggested that they raid the griffon embassy to search for clues. Then, there were those who believed that they should launch an immediate attack and take the griffons by surprise. As she listened, the princess did her best to think about each option that was tossed around, as she tried to figure out what would be their best option.
It was only when a sudden flash of light appeared in the middle of the room, that it became as silent as the grave. Guards rushed to protect the royals. Those already at the scene could use magic-created barriers, while others used their shields. But, when the light died down, they all saw that Cadence was standing in the middle of where the light had been, while Midnight lay on her back.
“Cadence, thank the sun your back!” cried Celestia as she stood. However, Cadence looked at her rather coldly. “Is something the matter?”
“Yes, Princess Celestia,” said Cadence in an angry tone. Celestia’s jaw opened and looked like she had just been slapped. The use of her title, as well as her tone, told the solar princess that something must of had happened on the moon.
After a moment, Celestia cleared her throat before addressing the room. “I believe that we are all a little tired right now. Let’s take an hour break.” One by one, the nobles shuffled out of the room, until only the three princesses remained. It wasn’t until the door closed that Celestia spoke once more. “I take it something happened on the moon?”
“Something happened alright,” Cadence all but snarled. “I went up there to talk to Princess Luna to see if she had any advice on helping the bat ponies. In time, we could have come up with a plan, or a way to explain why some pegasi are born as bat ponies. But then, you had to invade Princess Luna’s dreams! The few ponies that know about it right now are furious! I’m just glad none of them suspected us of being accomplices!”
“Did Luna do anything?” asked Celestia with a hint of worry.
Cadence shook her head. “No, she left after Twilight Sparkle talked to her. According to her, Luna left the Republic to talk to some other pony.”
Celestia let out a sigh of relief as a small smile appeared on her face. “That’s a relief. It looks like everything is going according to my plan.”
“Plan?!” roared Cadence. “This is all part of your plan? I don’t think you realize what you have done! From what Twilight Sparkle said, Luna was found in the corner crying her eyes out! And if Shining Armor hadn’t been there, then I might have been suspected as an accomplice! So please, enlighten me, how is this all part of your plan?”
“My plan was to remind Luna about our childhood,” said Celestia softly as she walked over to one of the stain glassed windows. On it was the image of the royal family, back when all four of them were still together. “I wanted Luna to remember who originally fought for her, so that she could become co-ruler. If she didn’t come to her senses right away, I knew that she would go to her eventually. It’s what she always does when she gets really upset or needed to be reassured.”
“I don’t believe this,” uttered a dumbfounded Cadence. “How could you do that?”
“She left me no choice,” noted Celestia. “She refused to talk to me, or answer any of my letters. We don’t have time for her to be stubborn. There is a crisis looming ever closer to us, and I need her here.” Celestia then turned her head to see that Cadence was slowly walking away. Then, right in front of the door, she stopped.
“I once defended you,” said Cadence without turning around. “I defended you in front of Princess Luna. She was so angry at you for letting things get so out of control with the bat ponies. Now…I’m beginning to regret that.” With that, Cadence opened the door and walked out without letting Celestia say a word.
Celestia sighed and turned to walk toward another stained glass window. She stopped in front of one depicting a large kingdom that wasn’t Canterlot, but of the Crystal Empire. She stood there, looking at it for a moment as she remembered back on the years before Celestia and Luna attacked Sombra.
Luna had wanted to go right away, but Celestia refused. Despite the horrors that they both knew were going on in there, it would make them look like invaders. She needed proof that Sombra was up to something, so she could justify the attack. So, while she had her talks with the Emperor, the spies she had sent in secretly could uncover anything she could show to the other nations, to justify attacking the Crystal Empire.
This was kept completely secret. While she trusted Luna completely, she wanted to make sure as few knew about this, in case Sombra also had spies in Equestria. So, while this was going on, and Luna kept insisting that they attack the Crystal Empire, all Celestia could say was ‘trust me’.
It wasn’t until three years later, that they finally came back with something. They had found out that Sombra had discovered a rare gem that could enhance his magical powers to the level of an alicorns. This had been the reason for the forced labor within his empire, searching for more of these gems. Luckily, he had only found one so far. He had attached it to a necklace and called it the Alicorn Amulet.
Realizing the danger of this gem, her spies stole it and began to head home. Yet, as they traveled back to Canterlot, something happened. Exactly what, the sun princess didn’t know. All of them, along with the amulet, vanished. However, they had sent her proof, via magical fire, before they departed from the Crystal Empire. Most of them were documents with Sombra’s seal on them, with details on the crystal as well as battle plans to attack Equestria and the surrounding kingdoms.
After receiving this information, Celestia went to tell Luna that they were going to attack Sombra together. Sadly, Luna had already lost her patience and gone on ahead. The sun princess eventually caught up with her sister and the two managed to defeat Sombra. As the battle neared its end, Luna charged up her magic to kill the tyrant.
Celestia, wishing to show mercy, stopped her. She watched as Luna reluctantly helped turn Sombra into a shadow before banishing him. Yet, before they could finish, the evil emperor cast one finally spell on the empire that caused it to vanish.
Once it was all over, Luna lashed out at Celestia. How if they had just attacked when they first found out, or if they had just killed him when they had the chance, the Crystal Empire would still be standing. Celestia stood there as Luna yelled at her, not saying a word. She wanted to explain to her sister her reasons, but wanted to wait until she felt the time was right. But, that day never came.
Now she felt as history was repeating itself. There had been no real time to explain to Cadence what she was doing. Did she really think that Celestia wanted to do this? There was no other choice!
Luna wouldn’t listen to her, nor would she see her, without shooting her out of a cannon. If she tried showing her positive memories of the two of them in her dreams, then Luna surely wouldn’t have come back. She would have believed that Celestia was just trying to manipulate her.
So, Celestia had to get crafty. She had to break Luna, so that she couldn’t think straight. Cause her to doubt herself and go to somepony that she knew cared about her to reassure her. Celestia had slightly hope that it would have been her, but all hopes of that happening vanished, when Luna realized that she had been behind this.
Celestia had, however, prepared for that. That was why she chose that memory. Luna would go to their mother to seek her love and guidance, asking her what she should do.
Then, she would return to Celestia.
-x-
Meanwhile, Cadence fumed as she walked down the corridors. She still couldn’t believe what her aunt had done. Why couldn’t she just wait a while for her sister to cool down, and then talk to her? Really talk to her like she was an adult, and stop with these mind games and half-truths.
“Ah, there you are, Princess Cadence,” said a voice that Cadence really didn’t want to hear right now. She turned her head to see Blueblood walking down a different hallway towards her. “I have been looking all over for you.”
“What for?” asked Cadence, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible. Blueblood wordlessly produced a letter from his coat and handed it over to the pink princess.
“I found this letter in Hard Shell’s desk,” he said as Cadence began to read it. “I don’t know if anypony has told you yet, but our dear Captain of the Guards was murdered a few short hours ago. This letter isn’t relevant to the investigation, but it is relevant to your little crusade to help the bat ponies. Something about bat ponies near a new settlement called Appleloosa. I think you should handle this one yourself.”
“And what are you up to?” asked Cadence immediately.
“Why whatever do you mean?” asked Blueblood.
“You know exactly what I mean,” said Cadence in a short tone. “You don’t care about Appleloosa or bat ponies. There is nothing in it for you. You could have just left it in the desk, or had some other pony deliver it to me.
“But, instead you brought it to me yourself, meaning that you wanted to make sure I got it. The only time you do anything around here is when it affects you in some way. So tell me, what are you up to?”
“Why nothing,” answered Blueblood in his normal voice, like this was nothing out of the ordinary. “There is a crisis and a possible war coming up. We simply don’t have the troops to help in a messy genocide. Fewer troops on the battlefield mean it’s more likely that we will lose.”
“Meaning the more likely your life of luxury will be at an end,” said Cadence bluntly.
“I suppose you could put it that way,” admitted Blueblood.
Cadence could literally feel like he wasn’t telling her the complete truth. There was something going on that she couldn’t put her hoof on. Knowing her aunt, she would take this sudden change of character as a sign that he was finally living up to his title of prince. But, Cadence knew better than to trust anything he said. Sadly, she had no proof that he was up to anything and the letter looked very real.
“Very well, then,” said Cadence. “I’ll be heading out right away.”
“Wouldn’t you rather wait till morning,” asked Blueblood. “You could get some sleep, as well as take some of guard.”
“No,” said Cadence. “This matter is too important to wait. I will rest in my chariot and take members of my own personal guard.”
“Very well,” said Blueblood as Cadence walked away. Once she was out of sight, a smile appeared on the prince’s face. Now she’d be out of the way for a while. This would help his own plans greatly.
-x-
“Luna, would you like some more seaweed casserole?” asked Oceana as she looked at Luna’s mostly eaten plate. The moon princess shook her slightly greener face no. It turned out that her mother hadn’t cooked a meal for anypony in over a thousand years. But, when her daughter came to see her, she decided the best way to celebrate was with a home cooked meal.
Right now, the two alicorns were in the servant’s kitchen. It was a small room with an underwater oven that used lava to heat the food. There was also a small, round table big enough for three or four ponies. Finally, there was also a sink that was next to a cabinet that held all the dishes. A room like this gave a cozier feel than the grand dining hall.
“T-that’s alright, mother,” said Luna after she gulped down the last of the ‘food’. “I wasn’t that hungry, anyways.”
“Alright, sweetheart,” said Oceana as she took Luna’s plate with her magic. In the process of doing this, she noticed that Luna was tensely checking the door. “And, don’t worry about your father. He doesn’t live here anymore. We got a divorce a long time ago.”
“What happened?” asked Luna.
Oceana sighed, putting the plate in the sink. “To be honest, a lot of things. We only stayed together as long as we did, because of you and Celestia. After you and your sister took over Equestria, we separated. We thought some time apart might help, but it didn’t.”
She paused for a moment, before giving Luna a small smile. “So tell me, how have things been with you?”
“Alright,” said Luna with a smile of her own. “Got my own country now.”
“So I’ve heard,” said Oceana as she sat next to her daughter. “Celestia told me how you just up and left her without saying a word.”
“Did she ever tell you why?” asked Luna in an angry tone.
Oceana nodded her head. “She did eventually,” she said. “A couple of days after it all happened, she came here. I asked her what happened and she told me that you were making a fuss over nothing. It wasn’t till two hundred years later that I got the full story from her. She came here crying at what she had done to you, as well as the image of the lunar ponies. Needless to say, I was disappointed in the both of you.”
“But,” began Luna, however Oceana raised a hoof to silence her.
“Now before you say anything, let me explain,” she said calmly. “Celestia had asked you to get her proof that what happened in Hoofshire wasn’t an accident. Personally, after hearing what happened, I don’t think it was. Then, you took all of your followers to the moon, while leaving a mess of problems behind, instead of working together with your sister.
“On the other hoof, Celestia was wrong in thinking she could wait two months, just to make a speech on the issue. Also, while it was true that you left, Celestia should have been trying to fix the problems in Equestria that caused you to leave. Instead, she refused to have your name spoken out and carried on like nothing happened.”
Oceana then let out a sigh. “Luna, I can understand why you did what you did. But, if you want my approval, then I can’t give it to you. There were other things you could have done.”
“It wasn’t like it was an easy choice,” said Luna. “My little ponies were being persecuted because of me. I tried to tell Celestia that, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She never did!
“She never valued anything I said or tried to do. I think she never really wanted me to rule beside her. That it was just because you wanted us to.”
“That’s where you’re wrong Luna,” said Oceana. “I wasn’t the only one who stood up to your father. Celestia, from time to time, would hint that the job would be easier if there were two ponies ruling. And then, the day before she was to take the thrown, Celestia walked right up to your father and told him that if he didn’t make you her co-ruler, then she would refuse to take the throne.”
Luna couldn’t hide the shock and surprise from her face. Celestia, daddy’s little girl, had done that for her?! But, why?
“I-I don’t believe that,” stammered Luna. “If she really wanted me to rule beside her, then why did she never listen to what I said?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Oceana. “Maybe it’s because she’s as stubborn as you are, when it comes to getting things done. Or, maybe she thought that, since you didn’t study politics for as long as she had, that you needed a guiding hoof. She forgot that the reason I wanted you both together wasn’t so you wouldn’t be lonely, but to help each other. To help balance each other out. But, neither of you really likes to give in.”
“So, what should I do?” asked Luna. “After what Celestia did to me and my little ponies, do you think I should just do what Celestia wants and merge our two nations? They hate and fear us!”
Oceana didn’t answer her at once. Celestia had told her what had happened to Luna’s holiday, and some of the stories that were told about the Republic. While Celestia held most of the blame on this one, Luna wasn’t guiltless either. If Luna hadn’t kept her little ponies so isolated for so long, then maybe there wouldn’t be so many horrible stories told about them. But, she did understand what Luna was saying.
“I’m not going to tell you what you should do,” said Oceana. “Go back to Celestia and try to work out your problems, or keep things the way they are now. Whatever you decide, I’ll respect. But Luna, don’t make a decision based on anger towards your sister. Do what you think is right for your little ponies.”
Luna blinked before nodding her head. Oceana was right. There were many issues between her and Celestia. Just like there were many issues between Equestria and the Lunar Republic. Right now, she needed to put away her issues with her sister and think about what would be the best thing for her subjects.
For a long time, Luna just sat there. What conserved her the most was the safety of her subjects. If the two nations just merged like Celestia wanted, then there would surely be fighting. It would be just like a thousand years ago. Only this time, the ponies of the Republic would refuse to take it lying down again. They would fight back and might possibly end in a civil war.
Then, there was the huge gap in their technology. The Republic was working on interplanetary travel, while Equestria was just starting to accept steam technology. If they just gave Celestia’s ponies one of their advanced generators, she was afraid they might blow themselves up. Or, what if they used the Republics weapons to fight their enemies. It would be a huge and unfair advantage.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, Luna came to a decision.
-x-
As the morning light began to shine across Equestria, Celestia sat on her throne. She looked tired from everything that had been going on. A new Captain of the Guard needed to be selected soon. The griffon embassy had been surrounded, while a letter had been sent to the Emperor about the situation. There were a dozen more items on her list that she needed to do along with her usual work.
Just then, there was a flash of light that appeared at the end of her audience chambers. Her guards quickly reached for their weapons, when they saw that it was Princess Luna.
“Lower your weapons,” said Celestia as Luna began to walk towards her sister. Slowly, the guards obeyed. “It is good to see you little sister. I’m sure that we have much to talk about.”
“Not really,” said Luna, stopping in the middle of the audience hall. She then cleared her throat before continuing. “Princess Celestia, as the ruler of the Lunar Republic, I, Princess Luna, hereby rejects your offer for our nations to merge.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.034 seconds
Total duration
924 users online
1,375,868 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Yes Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
EPIC
I imagine that Luna would help Celestia if she just told her that there was a discord problem. There would be no merger, but there would be some help. Deal with discord now and worry about a merger later if the planet doesn't get turned into cotton candy.
Oh shit shit has hit the fan.
... Good job Luna, good job. Now Celestia can wallow in her own sorrows as Luna terminates all enemy's from orbit, I think luna should open relations with the other country's and Equestria. Allowing those who are persecuted to join her republic... After she manages to finish the interplanetary space shuttle first, of course.
I can't wait to see how things go when all of the ancient evils start coming to light.
Oh and Celestia is pissed, especially now that her plans(which she should have thrown out ages ago.) are falling to pieces around her. Oh and I have a feeling that Blueblood is going to regret sending Cadence out, or at the very least going to resent the fact that she escaped the lunar republic's wrath.
They won't murge because of the hatred between each nation and that's the reason why, maybe Luna will suggest that both her and Celestia need to end that first before anything else can happen and clear up the lies that surround them as well as their own emotional problems. But why do I keep getting the feeling at the end of this Celestia will do a Lelouch "Zero Requiem" style gambit with herself as the "Demon King" and Luna as "Zero".
another amazing chapter. and this is me after reading that ending
in case you couldent tell i didn't want luna to join celestia
I'm glad she decided not to merge
It took me a while, but I think I figured out what's wrong with this Celestia.
She wants her little sister back. She does not want Princess Luna back.
And damn, Zecora.
I'm betting another thing is that the Ponyvillians might believe is that Zecora could be working for the Lunar Ponies. After all, of all the places in Equestria, Twilight and Shadow come to the town where she hung out?
Yes go luna you dont need celestia or equestria. And mane six comments
O my goodness, Zecora!!!!
Holy Shit!!!
I cant believe silly did would do something like that.
Way to go luna stick it to her.
AJ!??!
Sorry twi but this celestia is getting on my last nerves and I if given the chance would buck her right in the face!!!
sorry dear but I would have to agree with Aj on this she deserves what she is getting.
Oh boy, things are not going to end well. Unless, of course, Luna means they won't merge until the problems in Equestria are sorted out.
Luna wants diplomatic relations with celestia as seprete countrys to keep indipendance. Politics is a bitch
When I read the ending I just started playing this...
Well Luna is right. Equestria as it currently is, is not ready to merge with the Republic. Celestia simply sat on her butt and didn't evolve the country. It wouldn't work.
Well, considering what normally happens to Ponyville I would guess that the tax is for the rebuilding projects. Seeing as how many times Ponyville gets tossed onto its side, the monetary requirements would be immense.
Celestia, having been in war numerous times, you really should have known this was coming. No plan survives contact with the enemy.
Good job, Big Macintosh!
Everypony else ought to either be slapped with huge fines, or imprisoned pending execution for attempted murder. I assume neither is likely, because Celestia.
This makes perfect since from a political standpoint. The republic is so much more advanced than Equestria that technological integration would be extremely difficult. Even the most mundane of utilities would be like handing a particle accelerator to a caveman. As they are now the equestrian military would likely implement weaponry as soon as possible.
Next is the bigotry that is still heavily present in the society. The bat ponies of the lunar republic are used to a certain standard of life and equality. One which they would not receive in Equestria were they would be persecuted for being born, be accused of having stole any of their property including the previously mentioned tech. The other ponies of course to a lesser extent for A) Being from the moon and B) liking Luna over Celestia. The nobles are of major concern since they won't give up their inherited position to those who earned theirs without a fight.
As it is they should try an allience rather than reintegration, at least for now. Luna needs to get over her feelings and do whats best for her ponies. However more than Luna, Celestia needs to prove to Luna that A) She can act decisively B) Treat her like an equal C) That the advances the republic brings will be handled safely and smartly and D) That her ponies will be safe and treated fairly.
I liked how their mother never took a side. She had every right to be both proud and disipointed in both of them but she raises a good point. They both have faults and are far to stubborn. Luna needs to be more political in her approach and see the bigger picture, but Celestia needs to stop treating everything like the worlds longest chess match and pull away from the bigger picture to see the problem in front of her. Celestia's approach to Sombra was right from a political standpoint, but it was her unwillingness for decisive action that allowed Sombra to do what he did and for the amulet to vanish.
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES
INDIPENDENCE! LUNAR REPUBLIC INDIPENDENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3k8H_9SjoM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrG0AwUJQDQ
(sorry for my english XD)
I can just imagine Celestia,s inner reaction. "This isn't according to plan!"
'The best laid plans of men mice oft times go awry.' Something Celestia apparently has never heard.
Oh and Cliffhanger! 
Celestia you are the bigest idiont in the fucking world luna if you need water just go to the other countrys or make a offer to the nobles that she will take all the bat pony with her and open a emissy for immigration with the other countrys giving water to that problem is solved and discord use umbrella they will recover and hope the noble die
celestia diliked this story 18 time
Luna: “Princess Celestia, as the ruler of the Lunar Republic, I, Princess Luna, hereby rejects your offer for our nations to merge.”
Celestia: So be it... jedi
Luna: Ok? Really?
Celestia: Then you will be destroyed! *raises front hooves and lightning streams out at Luna*
Luna: Agh! Aaah!
Celestia: Now you will die!
"Take the thrown"? How far did she throw it?
I absolutely hate Luna in this story
To be honest, I could honestly see Luna in her right mind simply declaring that Celestia step down from the throne or else. Celestia's obviously been a terrible leader to her ponies, by essentially heavily neglecting Equestria's domestic issues, in addition to the fact that Luna probably could never trust Celestia again after her basically mind attacking Luna as a way to manipulate her like a chess piece.
Celestia has exemplified NONE of Harmony's principles regarding Luna.
@Darthvalgaav...
1. I think you have just invented a new 'ship, with Zecora & Big McIntosh
.
2. As I have said before, the story-angle with Princess Cadence's hard journeys and rise to power, is one of the strong points of your story. It will be interesting to see how her arrival to Appleloosa will be both a point of contention & frustration (at first) as well as a perfect flow of Destiny in that of "right person (pony), right place, right time" (ultimately as a bridge between pony and bat-ponies and buffalo). Perhaps the rest of Mane Six (or five plus Trixie) will accompany her as well...
3. This chapter (31) was definitely a positive step forwards to what Princess Celestia should be more like in a large-scale story such as this. Celestia is supposed to be a "chess-master" and a millennial-plus ruler of a nation, so she should both act, portrayed, and be perceived as such.
Should Blueblood have a cunning (to him, at least) plan towards gaining/seizing more power? Sure, as I mentioned, you need lots & lots of antagonists for a large-scale story such as this.
Should Celestia be kind/merciful enough to give Blueblood the opportunity to show positive change? Sure, this shows Celestia's great benevolence.
Should Celestia be aware Blueblood has likely NOT changed, and thus have contingency plans/investigations to counter &/or mitigate the potential international damage & suffering for his lust for power? From an immortal being groomed from birth to rule and has ruled for 1000+ years? Damn straight she should. If anything, Celestia should be pitying Blueblood like a chess master playing a grade-schooler still reading the instructions on the back of the box of how the knight-piece moves about [I cannot begin to relate how much my tournament-winning mother /facepalm'd trying to teach me correct piece-movement when she taught me chess as a child, much less think +2 moves ahead to her +9 moves ahead... rest her soul].
I look forward to seeing more of a stronger (character) Celestia.
.
4. There is a great potential plot-twist with the end of this chapter (31)... Princess Luna may have rejected the merger between nations, yes. The reasoning for that being for the good and safety of her Lunar ponies, which is fully understandable given the political, social, & technological factors. However, the twist would be that Luna herself remains on Equestria, to "work things out" between herself and Celestia as their mother Oceana also wisely advised. Thus both sides of the political and emotional argument are validated.
5. As I also said before, the Scootaloo family story-angle is another one of the definitive strong points in the overall of your fan-fiction work. I look forward to seeing how you develop a parental relationship between Shadow Blade and Scootaloo, as well as Twilight. Perhaps through flight lessons, and physical training towards joining The Lunar Royal Guard (for Scootaloo... Twilight trains the mind, Shadow trains the body), & simple family bonding time (Shadow: "I bought the complete DVD set of Transformares: Prime for us to watch togther!" Scootaloo: "what's a 'DVD'...? Shadow: "Oh- Uh, 'DVD' stands for... ... uhm... ... Twiiiliiight..!"
).
A small RL-anecdote from my days with social & charity work... (understandably, no real details on a public internet forum such as this)
Years ago, a long-time friend of mine adopted a young boy from an neglectful-abuse & broken home. It was a very patient (to put it diplomatically) year before it sunk in to the boy that my friend was not going to give up on the boy. One day, another 1-2 years (approx.) later, the boy on his way out the door to school, called over his shoulder "later, Dad." It was the very first time the boy called my friend that.
The boy came home to an impromptu pizza, fried chicken, & sherbert party, with relatives and friends (including myself).
Since that day, the boy has called my friend "Dad," and my friend has called the boy "my son." They mark & celebrate that day per year together when possible. And since then, to current times, the son has made his father a proud grandfather.
For adoptees like the boy and so many, many unfortunate others like him, it is often the smallest of things that mean the most to them. The simple assurance that someone is there for them, to be "Dad" &/or "Mom," is a treasure more valuable to them than a pallet of stacked gold bars, and something they would fight until their bloody end for.
Hope this helps you understand Scootaloo's position & perspective better
.
3370109 Really?? Because this is what Luna would be like had the Nightmare Moon incident not happened (wise and strong). Yes it's missing a royal prank or two but this is what I was excepting when NM was deleted from the timeline. It's a good story
3370683
I don't see the wise. And I see the strength as demanding. She expected Celestia to be perfect, despite Celestia never claiming perfection. She gets on Celestia's case if one of Celestia's ideas goes wrong. But the failure of Celestia's idea is not proof that Luna's plan would have worked.
I suppose I'm not a fan of characters I consider demanding or unyielding. I never believe their way is the right way as much as they do and always expect someone to suffer for it.
Not merging with Equestia might be the right decision, right now, but leaving The Republic and Equestria separate is the wrong choice. Of course the chapter end with Luna saying she won't merge the nations so we don't know if she plans to keep them separate. As I've mode comments on before Luna's decision to leave Equestria was wrong (from a political perspective, it was great for the story). The Republic and Equestria can't merge as they are but steps need to be made to reconcile or disaster will occur. Still are things that bug me, I was hopping that Twilight and her friends who cast the spell in chapter 1 would be involved somehow, to offer their own perspective on this alternate universe, at least to the audience. Second the version of Equestria seems more racist and primitive than cannon Equestria with out a real reason, in my opinion it needs one, how did losing Luna to Nightmare Moon make Celestia a better ruler? It still seems like in some way Equestria should be better off besides having more resources.
3370882
I agree about Equestria. It seems like Equestria is shown to suck because that makes it easier to show that Luna's a better ruler
3370882
I agree with the merging decision, but the reason this Celestia isn't a better ruler is that when Luna left, she took her ponies with her and with those ponies were the ones with the complaints that they were oppressed, overtaxed, dissatisfied and so on and so forth. Now since there are no complants Celestia thinks that there are no problems, ignoring the whole underlying causes. Now, Celestia thinks she can coast, with the nobility as her middle managers and reap the rewards without doing anything.
Luna didn't have that luxury. She and her ponies had to scrap and build their way up, causing her to be a more proactive type of leader.
3368919 not really the Lunar ponies have Crescent Hope there just say 'buck you' and fly to another world
3370882
Please remember the ponies that sided with Luna in this story. They were the thinkers, the kind of ponies that incite change in society. Think of them as the ponies of the Renaissance. When Luna took them, she gained a huge advantage. Also, think about how Celestia does things. She works through others by sending them on a journey. But all that was left in Equestria were the racist ponies. Don't forget that even Luna said that not all of her followers liked the bat ponies.
3371367
My problem is I don't feel that Celestia would be a "lazy" ruler, not knowing about problems is different from refusing to acknowledge them. It seems to me with Luna and her followers gone the underlying issues basically went dormant for a long time. The bat ponies of Equestria went into hiding and basically became a myth. The Lunar ponies cut of contact with their Equestrian counterparts for 1000 years and what they where like was left to speculation. Dealing with the issues raised requires both parties to be present. Telling someone to fix your relationship with them with out their participation doesn't seem fair or reasonable to me.
3370109
You hate LUNA?
After all Celestia did, you hate LUNA? Luna isn't the one exploiting childhood traumas to manipulate her sister! Luna isn't the one who let her subjects grow to abhor their neighbors for no good reason! Luna isn't the one who came back begging for forgiveness like the weak-willed ruler Celestia is! And you hate LUNA?
3372389
the fact that Celestia was willing to ask for forgiveness is one of the reasons I like her better than Luna.
I happen to like the ideals of the show. In my perspective Luna isn't living up to them.
For some reason I cant stop thinking that celestia was planning for luna to not merge their nations and she already has the next 5 steps planned. Im praying im wrong.
Ha in you're face Celestia. Serves you right for what you did.
Just a quick side-note before I go sleep (damn graveyard shifts
)...
Princess Celestia primary goals are actually NOT the merger of nations, though the merger is a well-intentioned secondary goal to try to fix the deep-rooted social problems of Equestria.
Princess Celestia's primary goals are two-fold...
- 1st: Have Princess Luna return permanently to Equestria so they may rule together again, as well as be present & available for the breaking-free of Discord and the return of The Crystal Empire & King Sombra. Thus if it comes down to it, the alicorn sisters can bring both their titans' might to bear in battle again.
- 2nd: Acquire Twilight Sparkle as a new pawn-piece to place upon the Celestia-chessboard, and move her (aka "remorselessly manipulate" her) to reclaiming & reactivating The Elements of Harmony for use against "powerhouse" threats such as mentioned above.
So while there are still problems in the portrayal of Celestia, Darthvalgaav has shown that Celestia does have "paved with good intentions" (if you get my meaning...
) goals in mind.
3377449 IS RIGHT
3371712 Thanks for this. Good chapter.
Nice, that's what you get for always being a chess master you can't take into account people's will or How a third party may react.
What is that verve in that song in Evanescence song "Sick with shame thought I'd take the blame must be extinguishing to loose your own game."
Now because of her actions she Lost Cadence and put her nation on a path to rune. Replacing love and Tolerance with fear, hate and Mayhem.
Good news Changelings wont want to invade this Equestria.
Can't wait to see what happens next
Good luck best wishes.
Go Cadence!
3377806...
Always nice to be told when one is right
.
The last time I as told I was not Right...
I Left.
*ba-dum-tssht*
Missing a word there.
Other than that nothing else seems to be wrong
3368919>>3371438 Actually their contingency for discord is operation blanket, which I estimate is an antimagical storm that probably blocks out the sun as well and will keep discord stuck in Equestria long enough for the lunar ponies to escape on the Crescent hope. or discord is trapped permanently under project blanket in Equestria.
3370109 Why?
3369071
I agree. Often times in fics like this, Celestia's problem is that she doesn't know how to react to Princess Luna, her equal. She knows how to react to her little sister. Celly has four main mistakes she's making/ has made that is preventing her from achieving her goal:
1.)She did nothing to fix the problems that made luna leave in the first place.
2.)She plans Luna's actions based on her Little Sister, not the strong solo ruler Luna has become.
3.)She treats everyone, including her own sister, as a pawn to be broken and moved.
And number four...
4.)She has given others the perception [which may or may not be accurate] that she doesn't care about anything else but keeping Equestria stable. But in order to do that, she has to prove she cares about her family.
There is two way to fix this mess in my opinion.
1- Luna adding an "However I am willing to..." after her last sentence.
2-Reversing Celestia's plan. She wanted to break Luna ? Let HER have an emotionnal breakdown in front of her sister , one where she reveal everything : her failed plan , her feelings , her grief.
The second would be interesting and delightfull in his irony.
Im hoping Cadance tries to over through celestia with the bat ponies and buffalo's and make her self high princess.
3372604
Why, pray tell, should Luna beg for forgiveness? She did what was best for her subjects and defended them from the prejudices of the other ponies. Celestia is the one who is in the wrong! She's the one who allowed her subjects to get so far out of line! Luna remained adamant about keeping keeping the history books truthful! Celestia is the one who closed herself to the outside world and let her subjects malign Luna and her ponies! The fact that Celestia was so IGNORANT and so confident that her country would outgrow the bigotry it grew on for so long is unacceptable! And remember, Luna WAS considering reconciling their differences and merging until she found out the slanderous LIES that the citizens of Equestria were spreading about her country! Luna is in no way at fault here! Celestia is the one to blame for this situation.
As for not living up to the principles of the show? Luna isn't the one psychologically torturing her sister with traumatic memories of her past! Celestia's actions were/are the definition of cruel! I daresay that even Chrysalis wasn't as evil/vicious! Chrysalis was trying to do what's best for her citizens. If Celestia had the mind to think for two seconds, she would come to the same realization that Luna has- that her country isn't ready to merge with the NLR, both technologically and bigotry-wise! In this case, and all cases, I must say the New Lunar Republic is better, and that Luna is a better leader.